Anyone have baby who throws up within few seconds of crying?

06-28-2008, 07:59 AM

DS is 4 months old & within 30 seconds or less he goes from starting to cry to throwing up. Been like this since birth. He is a very happy little guy otherwise, always smiling & laughing. He has reflux due to my oversupply of milk but it is getting a bit better. Could this be related to reflux? It's not like I let him cry so bad that he gets so worked up & throws up, it's like instant after starting to cry. Not always but often enough. Is this normal? Or could there be a problem?

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i would talk to your ped. about it, but i would guess that the crying isn't making him throw up, rather he's crying b/c he needs to throw up, then when he does, he feels better.

you know, you might be right. never thought he might cry b/c has to throw up. he seems so upset & exhausted after throwing up but at the same time he starts cooing & happy again. i do everything possible to tend to his needs & rarely does he cry at all b/c his needs are met & i've never seen a more joyful baby. so those times he does get upset & cry & throw up might be b/c of need to throw up. you know, now i think of it, it's usually happened after eating. i will pay close attention next time when it happens. might be reflux then?

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although, some times when i give ds to dh ds does same thing unless i take him back. we have tried to wait it out if ds was only crying a little so dh could comfort him & i get a break but he will throw up if it is more than a few seconds. it is right after he eats but doesn't usually throw up after eating unless upset. any ideas?

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I was just reading some stuff on acid reflux and thinking I need more info! When did it start? Does he sleep well. Have you looked at your diet for sensitivities? Is it better or worse certain times? Look at this Dr. Sears page and see if you think it is this.

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I have always heard about babies who throw-up if they cry too long. And of course the topic comes up in some sleep training books where parents are told what to do if they're babies throws up while CIO. One of my friends babies would do it but I don't know any details about how often it would happen or how much crying it took.

My DD did it a few times when she was a bit younger. I can't remember how long she cried before she did it. Probably the length of time it took DH to get her totally changed and ready for bed. Probably 3-5 minutes? I was definitely more than 30 seconds. As far as I could tell it was just because she got too worked up and cried too long. (Sorry little one)

I would agree with the others that it's probably something to look into.

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I do agree you should talk to your ped. or perhaps a lactation specialist but i thought I might add that my dd has a similar problem. I have over active let down (oversupply) and often she is very fussy and get's sick after eating. She's happy except when she's over full, she throw's up and feels better. Some times i find gripe water helps with her belly aches (I usually only give it to her if she throws up a lot at 2 feedings) and the other thing i found is that she has a very big need to suck and will try and go to the breast more than she wants to get this need fulfilled. When i noticed her trying to latch but then immediatly releasing because she doesn't want the milk (Or biting to stop the milk) I give her a soother. It's dramatically reduced the amount of throwing up and helps her meet her sucking needs. But like I said talk to your ped. or lactation specialist to ensure that this is the case. Good Luck

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Hi-
My son vomited entire feedings from birth. Especially when he would cry. He was given Zantac, but the flavor is so bad that it made him cry, so he threw up before we could get it in him. The doctors were not concerned as he was growing well.
(He has a heart defect, but don't worry, that is not related to the reflux. Kids post open heart surgery commonly get reflux and feeding problems.) I bring this up because after surgery he to grew well until the time period between 6-9 months old. He continued to gag on breast feeds, and started gagging, crying and throwing up during solid food meals. He failed to gain weight for 3 months, so the docs REALLY took notice.

Long story short, we got a referral to a GI specialist, he prescribed Prilosec, baby is much better, but will be starting OT for texture aversions as he still gags on certain foods.

Of note:
*GERD can cause nasal congestion that seems to be 'stuffiness'
*this congestion can make it look like they are barfing boogers
*our baby had bad breath when he was little, our pediatrician laughed when I told him the baby had barfy bad breath. turns out that is a symptom.
*short feeds can be a symptom because the reflux happens so they stop and cry even though they are still hungry
Recommendations:
1. Talk to you pediatrician
2. If they give Zantac and it doesn't work, ask for Prilosec
3. Prilosec has to be hand made by the pharmacist. Research pharmacies that will make it at a high concentration so you don't have to give a huge dose and pay for the flavoring (grape works). A side note is that the Navy pharmacy does not flavor meds, we chose to go to the Children's hospital and pay extra since they understand how to make it kid friendly.
4. Use the skinny syringe, even if it takes a few syringe fulls to get the dose. Our 10 month old baby learned to open his mouth nicely and swallow nicely, then he gets cheerios after.
5. According to our specialist, Most pediatricians give the lowest dose. The GI doc gives the highest. See if your doc is willing to increase the dose if you still have problems.
6. Request a GI specialist consult. Chances are you just have a baby with GERD. But, you want to make sure that is all. When your baby starts solids, finding a bigger problem is no fun.
7. I have a powerful let down that chokes the baby. A La Leche League volunteer suggested breastfeeding lying down to allow gravity to slow down the squirting. This sort of helped, and may help you.

Definitely be proactive for your child. I asked about the chronic barfing at every single doctors appointment from birth, thru heart surgery, and after. I didn't get their attention until my child stopped growing and went from 50th to 3rd percentile over 3 months. Don't let them ignore you.

Our baby is doing so much better on the higher dose of Prilosec. It took about 2 weeks (exactly what the GI doc said.) The OT is because of difficulty with thicker and more textured foods. He no longer throws up when he cries (which is great for the folks at the chold watch at our gym!) This is common in kids that have been intubated for open heart surgery. So, I don't expect that your baby will have these issues.